ABU DHABI -- Jenson Button says he is looking at life after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as "a new beginning" as he embarks on a sabbatical from Formula One.
Button will not be on the grid next year after 16 seasons in the sport, having agreed to step back into an ambassadorial role with McLaren, with Stoffel Vandoorne replacing him. Button has an option to return in 2018 if McLaren wants him back and has decided not to retain either Vandoorne or Fernando Alonso.
"The Abu Dhabi weekend definitely will be emotional," he told the official F1 website. "The last couple of years have been quite difficult without my father. So yes, my last race will be tough -- but my mum will be there, one of my sisters and lots of my friends. So it will be a very special weekend. It will not be the end -- it will be a new beginning."
Button is undecided on what racing he will do next year to accompany his new role at McLaren, which came after Ron Dennis talked him out of retiring from the sport completely.
Explaining the ambassadorial position, he said: "I will not change anything in F1 unless I am running the sport -- which I won't be!
"In terms of McLaren, my job won't be about developing the car because I won't be driving it. I will listen to the feedback of the drivers and will try to help the team understand what the drivers' feedback means, because that is sometimes not so easy in the heat of the moment.
"My aim -- or my job -- will be helping build the team, polishing the team. If you have been looking at a team for so long from one side and suddenly get the chance to step back and take a look from another point of view, I am sure there is a lot we can learn."